Bayer Technology Services wants to stay on the growth curve. For that to happen, the company has to find the right balance between its internal and external customer base. Dr. Dirk Van Meirvenne, who took over as CEO on June 1st, answered a series of questions from PROCESS Editor-in-Chief Gerd Kielburger.

PROCESS: Dr. Van Meirvenne, as a chemist what does it feel like to be CEO of an engineering company?

Van Meirvenne: (laughs) Actually, we view ourselves as a technology company rather than an engineering company, so I can honestly say that I feel very comfortable in my new role. Apart from that, I was involved in a very large number of technology projects during my 20 years working as a chemist at Bayer, and that experience has helped me progress up the learning curve in terms of my understanding of engineering issues. That knowledge comes in very handy in my current position.

PROCESS: You have a background in polymer chemistry, and you are now responsible for a very broad portfolio. What do you see as your biggest challenge at BTS?

Van Meirvenne: The team at BTS has gone through a period of significant change. The company has made the transition from a centralized engineering organization to a technology-oriented platform which focuses on market customers and is very aware of the diverse needs of its business partners. The biggest challenge now is to properly position and balance our very extensive portfolio. To do that, we will have to clarify a number of internal issues. For example, what are the essential factors that will enable us to continually improve our technology and our business performance? In which markets do we want to be the technology leader? What do we want to concentrate on in the future?

Additional Information

Dr. Dirk Van Meirvenne

Dr. Dirk Van Meirvenne

Dr. Dirk Van Meirvenne took over as CEO at Bayer Technology Services on June 1st, 2010. Van Meirvenne was born on September 19th, 1963 in Sint-Niklaas (Belgium) and he studied polymer chemistry at the University of Gent (Belgium). He joined Bayer Antwerpen N.V. (Belgium) in 1990 and worked in titanium dioxide production until 1997 where he rose to the position of Operations Manager. He then moved on to the plastics business and was responsible for polycarbonate production in Antwerp until 2001. His next assignment was in Thailand. Van Meirvenne was appointed Plant Manager in Map Ta Phut in 2001. During this period, the plant expanded to become the company’s largest polycarbonate site in Asia. A year later, he took charge of Polycarbonate Global Operations at Bayer Polymers in Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany). When Bayer MaterialScience AG was formed in 2004, he was appointed Production and Technology Manager in the Polycarbonate Business Unit. From 2007 onwards, Van Meirvenne was the Isocyanate Production and Technology Manager at Bayer MaterialScience in Leverkusen, and his responsibilities included the construction of the MDI and TDI plants in Caojing near Shanghai (China). Van Meirvenne is married and has three children.

Bayer pools its process and plant safety expertise

Bayer pools its process and plant safety expertise

The Bayer Group is pooling its expertise in the process and plant safety sector under the aegis of BTS, and will offer these services worldwide. The technology company, which has regional offices in eleven countries, is to take over the Process and Plant Safety department of Currenta in Leverkusen in the context of a transfer of undertaking. The 53 experts in the department have become BTS employees effective October 1, 2010. The former manager Dr. Konrad Fischer will continue as head of the department, which will become part of the Process Technology Division. The related technology fields Materials Technology, Process Design and Reaction Technology also form part of this division. The functions performed by Process and Plant Safety include providing global support for safety analyses, designing safety equipment, controlling chemical reactions and ensuring explosion protection.

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Interview: the New CEO at BTS Places Equal Emphasis on Flexibility and Focus

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